As part of the cooperation agreement between The Trust for the Americas and the High Council for the Rights of Victims, we join in commemorating the National Day of Remembrance and Solidarity with the Victims of Colombia’s Armed Conflict, with the aim of fostering environments of remembrance, peace, and reconciliation.
Bogotá, Colombia (06/04/2019) – Tuesday April 9, will be commemorated the National Day of Victims of the Armed Conflict, an initiative of the High Council for Victims' Rights, a strategic partner of The Trust for the Americas. We join in this commemoration to recognize all the people who participated in our project “Peace Laboratories” and “Peace-Building Localities”, which were developed in 6 localities of Bogota: Usme, Sumapaz, Bosa, San Cristobal, Rafael Uribe Uribe, and Suba, are an essential part of the reconciliation process and fundamental actors in the development of Bogota as a benchmark for peace.
The meeting place for the commemoration will be Paziempre Fair located in the Plaza de Alfiles at the Gran Estación Shopping Center (Av. Calle 26 #62-47, Bogotá), where, starting at 9:00 a.m., a variety of guided activities will take place, accompanied by a talk on entrepreneurship featuring guest speakers who will discuss the relationship between entrepreneurship and peace.
With the campaign ‘The Victims in Bogotá give us 9 inspiring reasons’, which leads the High Advisory Office for the Rights of the Victims, Peace and Reconciliation, seeks to recognize and make visible the capacities, customs, traditions and knowledge of the conflict survivors. Likewise, it aims to pay tribute to each of their actions that symbolize them as examples to the citizenry, and to showcase their qualities in overcoming difficulties.
In this commemoration, there will be a variety of activities in the city that complement the mobilization led by the District Table of Victims, which are mentioned below:
Symbolic opening ceremony at the Jaime Garzón monument (Av. Cra. 30 with Av. Calle 24) – 6:00 a.m.
Victims who are part of individual and collective reparation processes, training and entrepreneurship projects, and processes led by the ACDVPR, will participate alongside family members and organizations, representing the inspiring motives that identify them.
The space where Jaime Garzón's monument is located was chosen because during 2019, 20 years since the murder of the lawyer and journalist are commemorated.
This moment will be accompanied by other actions to give new meaning to spaces, memories, and traditions of those who have suffered the war and arrived in the capital as victims of forced displacement and the burden of carrying a history marked by armed conflict and fear.
PaZiempre Fair: Productive units of conflict victims – Gran Estación Mall Plaza – 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
More than 100 productive units of conflict victims living in Bogotá will market their food, apparel, and handicraft products, while sharing memories that have given way to the reconstruction of their life projects.
During the fair, a panel discussion on “Entrepreneurship, Peace, and Reconciliation” will also be held, featuring the participation of Tulio Zuloaga, Carolina Cruz, and Gustavo Quintero. In addition, throughout the day, the Gran Estación plaza will be the setting for artistic and cultural presentations by IDIPRON youth, as well as women and men who have found a medium in singing and dancing to express their resilient actions to resist adversity.
Also, Jaime Osorio, an artist from Bogotá, will create a visual artwork where victims and citizens will participate by leaving their fingerprints until they create the forget-me-not flower, an act of solidarity and a tribute to the survivors of the war.
· "Forget-Me-Not" Light Show – Center for Memory, Peace, and Reconciliation (Carrera 19B #24 – 86) 5:00 p.m.
On the imposing facade of the Monolith of the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation, stories of resilience from victims of the conflict who have found an opportunity to start businesses in the capital will be projected, blending live animated tales that tell diverse stories with social, political, and environmental themes. This staging will mix visual resources that include translucent materials for large-format projection, and experimental sounds produced live.
#SinOlvido Bike Rally – Center for Memory, Peace, and Reconciliation – 6:00 p.m.
"La Vuelta a la Memoria" is a bike ride that seeks to bring citizens closer to the memory of the conflict, aiming to resignify the city's spaces and generate connections where the past is part of the history that seeks to be transformed into new imaginaries and actions for peace.
An opportunity for everyone to participate in a night bicycle tour, where children, youth, and adults can also listen to autobiographical narratives related to the violent event that occurred in the spaces where the bike ride will make stops.
An invitation to journey through the past using symbols, prompting reflection on the before, the now, and the future. For those interested in participating, the meeting point will be next Tuesday, April 9, at the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation at 6:30 p.m.
We invite all citizens to wear the forget-me-not flower as a symbol of support for the victims, symbolizing the memories, life stories, and resistance of the victims of the conflict, representing the hardships and the resurgence of the survivors to build new beginnings. A day for Bogotá, its streets, and the hearts of its inhabitants, to dress in the flower that symbolizes resilience and unity.
About The Trust for the Americas:
Promote partnerships for economic and social inclusion in the Americas. A non-profit organization affiliated with the Organization of American States (OAS). It was established in 1997 for the participation of the public sector, the private sector, and civil society initiatives in social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The organization's initiatives aim to improve access to economic opportunities, enhance citizen security, and promote opportunities for democratic expression and governance responsive to underserved populations in the Americas. The Trust for the Americas offers partner local organizations a portfolio of training instruments, services, products, and technical assistance to help better serve vulnerable communities in the region. Visit: www.thetrustfortheamericas.org
Facebook: The Trust for the Americas Twitter: @Trust4Americas
About the High Advisory Office for the Rights of Victims, Peace, and Reconciliation:
The High Presidential Advisory Office is attached to the Office of the Mayor of Bogotá, and is responsible for the implementation of the measures set forth in the Victims and Land Restitution Law (Law 1448 of 2011) in the Capital District. Its mission is to strengthen the coordination and implementation of public policy for the prevention, protection, assistance, and comprehensive reparation for victims of the armed conflict, using a rights-based, participatory, differential, and transformative approach that contributes to the construction and sustainability of their life projects in Bogotá. Likewise, the High Advisory Office contributes to peacebuilding with the participation of the different population sectors of Bogotá, through the promotion and strengthening of memory processes that make visible the various experiences related to the armed conflict—experiences that contribute to the creation of spaces for encounter, reconciliation, the transformation of mindsets, and the appropriation of Human Rights.
More information at www.victimasbogota.gov.co / www.centromemoria.gov.co
Facebook: victimasbogota / CMPReconciliacion Twitter: @victimasbogota / @centromemoria